to still book our DS (16) as a 15 year old at a Premier Inn?

[VioletOrange]

I’m probably going to get a flaming for this but here goes.

We only have DS, he can’t stay in a PI by himself until he’s 18. If we booked him in as an adult, as he’s classed as one now he’s 16, we’d have to pay for another room. So for now, while we can still just about get away with it, we book him in as a child stating he’s 15.

In one PI where we’ve stayed many times over the years, a couple of the regular staff are aware but they’re ok with this. He doesn’t get up for breakfast so doesn’t benefit from the ‘kids eat free’ deal.

AIBU to carry on doing this for as long as we can get away with it? Not that he’ll likely still want to come away with us in the next few years.

My personal opinion is that on the one hand they class 18+ as adults but want to charge a 16 year old adult prices.

That's fine when they are paying for themselves!

Exactly. Usually we are doing ds & dd a favour when we book Premier Inns for them. Recent instances have been:

Elton John Concert
West End theatre trip
Transporting ds and his keyboard halfway across the country to enable him to rehearse/play a concert with National Youth Music Theatre
Uni open days

etc etc

This is why I've just book Travelodge. They class child as under 18. Same problem book a second room fine but one of us has to go in it with her!

I think that the issue around the ages and adult or child aren't so much that a 16 or 17 year old can't share with their parents , but that they aren't meant to have their own room younger then this .

I remember booking two rooms for Travel Lodge - one for myself and one for DS and his two friends- which I booked in as one adult and child and a second adult and two children - was panicking they would find out that the second adult didn't exist. Was all fine though and when a member of staff was called to speak to the youngsters to quieten down they didn't raise that the three 14/15 year olds had no adult with them . (Although how much noise was debatable given we were above a Wetherspoons and in the room next door I didn't hear them )

Oh behave. As if a 15 year old lad can't absolutely demolish a massive breakfast and substantially more than most adults.

We do as our eldest cannot be in a room by himself due to disability. No other way around it if we want to share a room.

We did this when ds was 16 at the PI at Gatwick, no free breakfast though. Now he's 17 we just go to Travelodge where they don't have this shitty policy. It's not right at the terminal but good enough.

I just can’t justify the doubling in price of a 2 night stay when we only have 1 child, not classed legally as an adult until he’s 18. So how can PI class him as an adult when the law states that he’s not?

I had this booking a hotel Twin room (2 adults) was £200, if I put in one Adult and one 17 year old it only offered me a family room at £300...with a king bed and a put-u-up. So DS became an adult for the trip we paid £100 less and both had proper beds.

I likewise made him a child when we went around an NT property.

I find it works both ways sometimes they need to be older and sometimes younger - I suspect these blanket rules do need bending to peoples circumstances.

And while we’re on the subject, as he’s still not legally an adult and still classed as a child, why does he have to pay adult train fares/plane fares etc? Yes there are concessions such as 16/17 saver passes etc but why can’t there just be a blanket ban on children under the age of 18, who are still classed as children IN LAW, being charged adult prices?

Other chains such as travel lodge and holiday inn express count teenagers as children until they reach 18 years old.
So one solution is to use a different budget hotel.

I did this when ds was 16, said he was 15. In fact we were staying for three nights but he was only there for the first night because he was going on a trip.

I think it must be quite a new thing anyway because I'm sure you used to be able to have three adults in a Premier inn room, but maybe not!

I totally agree and was going to make the same point.

They can have that luxury when they pay for themselves.

To be fair, when we go away properly ds does have his own room or we get a suite, but when it's only for one night he can put up with it.

It's a sofa bed and some 13 year olds are 6 foot, so I'd be surprised.

definitely baked goods from breakfast buffets are fair game for a snack at the beach later

I see no problem with this. A breakfast buffet is all you can eat - it is perfectly acceptable to take something with you for later. I don't have a cooked breakfast so I don't see the issue with taking a yogurt or pastry for mid-morning.

How would it help families with younger children if a couple with a teenage son book two rooms instead of one? That just means another family won't get a room (plus the prices of the remaining rooms probably go up a bit, given the demand yield pricing structures these places operate).

Don't families with older children need help?

As crimes go, taking a pastry for a snack later is pretty minor. I've done it myself. Be under no illusions though, it is breaking the rules and isn't "perfectly acceptable to take something with you for later". If the hotel allowed this, where would they draw the line? Can I take a pastry and a piece of fruit? Can I make myself a bacon sandwich to eat cold at lunchtime? It probably won't cost them any more than a muffin and a banana. Can I take a sandwich and a yoghurt? What if I need a snack as well as lunch?

I have always been encouraged to take a piece of fruit or a pastry with me by the staff.

That's different, of course. If the staff, representing the company, tell you it's okay then you can only assume it is. In the absence of being told explicitly that it's okay though, I think the only reasonable assumption is that it isn't.

Yes of course!
@FerretFumbler my 17 year old is in full time education wtf should I have to pay for another room!

The staff probably won’t give a monkey’s. When visiting London a while back, I approached a member of staff at a Tube station asking how I could turn my old Oyster card into a child one for my 11yo, as only under 11s travel free. The woman said “she looks 10 to me”. It took a while for the penny to drop, and I said “Yes, but she’s 11”. The woman said again, louder and with a wink, “but she looks 10 to me”. I then tapped us both through without buying a child ticket as she waved us off.

I had a very similar instance with my ds on the tube.

Lol we had this at the Tower of London where the man at the kiosk sad, no she's only x surely- wink 🤣.